Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has increased salaries for its newly qualified (NQ) London associates to £145,000 – the first pay hikes firm since the firm’s transatlantic merger went live last month.
NQ rates have been raised by £10,000, equating to a 7.4% hike. The latest increase comes after the firm upped NQ pay from £120,000 to £135,000 last year, meaning starting salaries for associates have gone up by more than 20% in two years.
The increase puts the firm’s NQ pay ahead of all UK-origin firms outside of the magic circle, which all moved up to £150,000 last year after Freshfields moved first in May. Earlier this summer, Ashurst bumped NQ pay to £140,000, bringing it into line with Baker McKenzie, Hogan Lovells and Macfarlanes.
None of the magic circle have yet moved to increase salaries this year, with Slaughter and May holding rates at £150,000 after a full pay review in May. Slaughters will hold a second annual pay review in the autumn, and last year waited till September to raise its NQ rates.
HSF Kramer UK and EMEA executive partner Jeremy Walden said in a statement: ‘We invest in our people at every stage of their careers through a balanced and competitive reward structure. As one of the leading global law firms in today’s fast-moving market, this is important for us to be able to strengthen the experience we deliver to our clients, to maintain our firm’s culture and to ensure the firm’s continued success and growth.’
The firm has also held its trainee pay steady at £56,000 for first-year trainees and £61,000 for second-year trainees – the same as each of the magic circle firms, and just below Ashurst, which pays first and second-year trainees £57,000 and £62,000 respectively.
Elsewhere, HFW has also hiked its NQ salaries, increasing pay from £100,000 to £103,500, after bumping NQ pay from £95,000 to £100,000 last year.
In a statement, chief people officer Corrin Kaye said: ‘It’s important to us that we recognise and reward people for their contributions to the firm, and we offer a combined salary and bonus package that is significantly more generous than our peers for high performers.
‘We also strongly believe that valuing people is about much more than just compensation. We pride ourselves on offering the best possible combination of rewarding and challenging work for our leading sector clients, a genuinely good work-life balance, great benefits, a friendly and supportive environment, and opportunities to develop – including by working in different locations across our global network.’
The firm is holding its trainee salaries steady at £50,000 for first-year trainees and £54,000 for second-year, with an increase scheduled for August.
